Home - Play Active

Active, Happy, Healthy Children

Supporting Early Childhood Education and Care services to boost children’s energetic play, throughout the day, every day

Features

Play Active supports Educators, Directors and Parents to boost children’s energetic play.

What is Play Active?

Play Active is the only program of its kind in Australia that provides clear guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services to ensure all children are getting enough energetic play throughout the day, every day.

Find out more

Why have we developed Play Active?

ECEC services have a responsibility to support and promote children’s physical activity under the National Quality Standards (NQS).

This is where Play Active comes in. It has been specifically co-developed to support services in meeting and exceeding in NQS Quality Area 2.1.

Find out more

What is energetic play?

Energetic play is ‘huff and puff’ activity. Young children do it in bursts. It’s important children have lots of opportunities for energetic play throughout the day.

Energetic play is fun, healthy and good for children’s development. It not only makes bones and muscles stronger, but the brain too by improving language development, attention and memory.

Why is physical activity important for young children?

Physical activity provides young children with many health and developmental benefits including:

Improved bone and muscle health
Cardio-respiratory fitness
Maintaining a healthy weight
Enhanced cognitive, emotional and psychosocial development

Establishing good physical activity habits early in life sets children up for a healthy childhood and supports their development.

Making workloads easier – aligning to National Quality Standards

Services have a responsibility to support and promote children’s physical activity under the National Quality Standards:

Quality Area 2.1 ‘Each child’s health and physical activity is supported and promoted’
Element 2.1.3 ‘Heathy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child’

But, there is little guidance and resources available for services to do this. This is where Play Active comes in. It has been specifically co-developed to support services in meeting and exceeding in Quality Area 2.1.

Find out more

Our Partners

Play Active has long-standing partnerships across the early childhood, health promotion, play and government sectors, alongside world leading research organisations.

Our Research Partners

Our Funding Partners

Backed by 10 years of research

Since 2013, partners from ECEC, government, play, public health and research sectors have worked together to develop Play Active.

Our previous research within the ECEC sector highlights there is great potential to increase young children’s energetic play while in ECEC and support their health, learning and development.

Ongoing research and evaluation ensures the high quality delivery, reach and impact of Play Active.

Find out More

For Educators & Directors

It’s quick and easy to join

For Educators

20 minutes – FREE professional development to boost your knowledge about supporting children’s physical activity and energetic play.

Free

Features:

Eight short professional development videos

A short quiz to check your knowledge

Complete at your own pace

Aligned to the National Quality Standards and Early Years Learning Framework

Completion Certificate (valid for 2 years)

For Directors

60 minutes for your service to become a Play Active member

^A$200_{(valid for 2 years)}

Features:

Tailor your own service’s Play Active Physical Activity Policy

Complete short, online Professional Development

Download your service’s personalised Play Active Policy

Receive a Membership Pack in the mail, including a Play Active outdoor sign, floor decals, flyers for parents, the Play Active Resource Guide, posters and more

Be recognised on the Play Active homepage as a Play Active member

Access to the Play Active website member dashboard with:

Hand-picked evidence-based resources to support children’s physical activity and energetic play

Exclusive live webinars

Discounts to Play Active partner resources and professional development

And much much more…

Testimonials

What do early childhood sector experts think about Play Active?

If we know physical activity is important both for physical and mental and emotional wellbeing, and we know children aren’t physically active as they should be, then we can make decisions for the children we have in our care now, so we can improve their outcomes for the future. Play Active is the perfect tool to do that because it’s precise and gives good, direct information.

Shelly Prendergast

Owner, Sonas Early Learning and Care

Play Active provides early childhood education and care centres and staff with high-quality guidance to modify their policies, environments and practices in ways that give children the best possible opportunities for early development, for both their bodies and minds. This benefits all children and in particular those with the greatest needs.

Trevor Shilton

Consultant, Physical Activity & Public Health

We're thrilled to see Play Active planning to support early learning services across Australia to become more physically active through active play — especially those services with parents and families experiencing greater hardship.

Rachelle Tucker

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Childcare Alliance, WA

Play Active is an essential evidence-based program that we have actively contributed to in terms of its development and delivery to Goodstart services state-wide.